


the way things went

by mimimarqeuz



Series: how these things work [2]
Category: Heathers (1988), Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe
Genre: Date Rape, F/F, Suicide mention, downplayed rape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-05
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-06-06 12:40:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6754159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mimimarqeuz/pseuds/mimimarqeuz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Heather pulled her legs up under her, leaning in closer on Veronica’s side. They were having a movie night, a week after the whole JD incident happened at the school. Heather was nearly asleep, curled up against Veronica soundly– she couldn’t help the cuddling really, she had always been this way, even with the Heathers, and Veronica didn’t seem to have any problems.</p>
<p>The movie was boring, anyway.</p>
<p>“Um, Heather?” Veronica spoke, bringing Heather out of her sleepy trance.</p>
<p>“Hm?” She yawned, throwing an arm over the other girl’s stomach.</p>
<p>Veronica hesitated for a moment, seeming uncomfortable. “Can I ask you something? Kinda, personal?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	the way things went

Heather pulled her legs up under her, leaning in closer on Veronica’s side. They were having a movie night, a week after the whole JD incident happened at the school. Heather was nearly asleep, curled up against Veronica soundly– she couldn’t help the cuddling really, she had always been this way, even with the Heathers, and Veronica didn’t seem to have any problems.

The movie was boring, anyway.

“Um, Heather?” Veronica spoke, bringing Heather out of her sleepy trance.

“Hm?” She yawned, throwing an arm over the other girl’s stomach.

Veronica hesitated for a moment, seeming uncomfortable. “Can I ask you something? Kinda, personal?”

Heather’s mind started going through every possibility, from terrible to amazing questions Veronica could ask. She poked her head up to look at her, furrowing her brow. “Yeah, shoot.”

“Um. Why did you think it was okay to do that to me at the cemetery?” She asked quietly, and Heather had no idea what she was talking about.

“What?”

Veronica shook her head, moving a hand as she tried to explain, “Like, um, volunteer me for your date rape.”

Heather rolled her shoulders in a small shrug, “It wasn’t, like, _rape rape_. I mean, Heather and Heather used to do it to me all the time, so it wasn’t date rape. They just didn’t want to do what boys wanted, so they got me to.”

“Heather.” She looked up at Veronica, who had a sad look in her eyes, like when she had stopped her from taking those sleeping pills. “That’s fucked up. People shouldn’t do that, especially not to their friends, and boys shouldn’t even be trying to force themselves on you guys in the first place.”

Heather looked down, now uncomfortable with the conversation. “Guys take you out and buy you stuff, so it’s only fair, right?” That’s how it had always been in her experience. “Besides, it’s not like we have much choice. Guys are really strong, and bigger than you.” She murmured in a tiny voice, keeping her eyes on the floor.

“It’s not okay. Like, not at all. Boys don’t have any right to anything you don’t want them to have, Heather. They are not entitled to your body.”

“They sure seem to think otherwise.” Heather pulled away from Veronica, leaning back on the couch. She pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, glancing over in the other direction.

Veronica placed a hand on Heather’s shoulder, noticing the ghost of a flinch in her body language. “Listen, you can’t do that to someone, ever again, okay? And if you don’t want to do something with a guy, hell if you don’t even want to kiss him, you don’t have to. What Kurt and Ram were trying to do to you and Heather, that was rape. If you’re not saying yes, it’s rape. And it doesn’t make you any better than Kurt and Ram to volunteer someone else for it.”

Heather sighed, curling into herself. She felt like a little kid who was chastised for doing wrong. It wasn’t like she had known any different, all she knew was the way of the Heathers, and that was the way things went. She just went along with it, who was she to protest?

She gave a small nod, all of a sudden feeling like she was going to burst into tears. Memories came flooding back to her– heavy hands on her hips, sloppy kisses up her neck. She tried to push him off, she _tried_. He wouldn’t stop, they never stopped.

Her ripped yellow dress, the bruises on her hips and arm, teeth scraping dully over her skin, the terrible layer of dirt she always felt afterward. So easily overpowered, so easily taken advantage of. She hadn’t known, she didn’t want to. Too many, way too many, there was no escape. Heather had driven off as soon as she got there, and they had pounced, like a pack of wolves.

The sticky floor of the movie theater, the fingers tangling in her hair roughly. “Please, I don’t want to.” She had pleaded, and it was like he hadn’t even heard. They never listened anyway.

Veronica reached for her again, and Heather flinched fully this time, squeezing her eyes shut and whispering, “Please, don’t.”

“Heather? Heather, are you okay?” Veronica’s voice brought her out of her head, and Heather blinked viciously, staring straight ahead. She tried again, moving slowly, placing a hand lightly on Heather’s shoulder. “Hey. It’s okay, it’s gonna be okay. I won’t let it happen again, Heather.”

Finally, she turned to face Veronica, lip trembling. Their eyes met, and Veronica looked so sincere and _sweet._ Heather dove into her arms, pressing her face into her shoulder as sobs racked through her body.

Veronica rubbed her back, just holding the smaller girl as she cried, promising to herself that she would personally beat the shit out of anyone who tried to take advantage of her again. 


End file.
